Patent GB-642146-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in or relating to circuits for operating on electric waves
IPC: H04L27/06
Filed: 1947-09-19
Abstract: 642,146. Superheterodyne circuits pulse modulation; valve circuits. STANDARD TELEPHONES & CABLES, Ltd. Sept. 19, 1947, No. 25536. Convention date, Sept. 21, 1946. [Class 40 (v)] An amplifier or other electrical device is used to operate several times in succession upon the same selected portion of an electrical wave and then similarly, on the next following selected portion, said portions being separated in time. In one embodiment, used as a radio-frequency amplifier for pulse signals, pulses from aerial 12, Fig. 1, are applied to the grid of valve 1 through transformer 13. A control wave applied in the grid circuit, from terminal 10, removes a prohibitive bias and renders the valve conducting as a class A amplifier during the period of the pulse. The amplified pulse in the anode transformer 2 is passed back to another grid transformer 5 through a delay network 4. Upon arrival in the grid circuit, the control wave renders the valve conducting again while the pulse is further amplified. Thereafter, the valve is cut off until the next pulse is applied from aerial 12. The twice amplified pulse may be derived from winding 14 of transformer 2 either alone or together with the once amplified pulse. The same principle may be used for a larger number of amplifications than two, and the circuit may also be used for a signal input wave which is not itself pulsed. In another embodiment, the invention is applied to a superheterodyne receiver wherein valve 23, Fig. 3, performs the functions of a radio fre. quency amplifier, mixer, three stages of intermediate frequency amplification and a second detector. The local oscillator 24 is a blocking oscillator which, at the appropriate period, produces a pulse of heterodyning oscillations and at the same time a control pulse which is passsd to a chain 40 ... 45, of delay devices to produce the necessary control waves. The oscillator is started off by a positive pulse applied to its grid by closing and opening switch 36, and thereafter a positive pulse from the output of delay circuit 45 continues the regular triggering of the oscillator. The valve 23 is normally completely cut off by bias source 55. The valve is conditioned as a class A amplifier by the pulse at the output of delay circuit 44, applied to its grid through condenser 59, and during this period, amplifies the radio frequency input from aerial 53 and transformer 52. The amplified radio frequency pulse is selected by the anode transformer 62 and passed through delay device 64 to a resistance 51 in the grid circuit. Simultaneously, the output pulse from delay device 45 triggers the oscillator 24 which applies a pulse of heterodyning oscillations to the screen grid of valve 23 from the winding 66 so that a pulse of intermediate frequency is produced in the anode circuit and selected by transformer 69. The I.F. pulse is passed through delay device 70 to the grid transformer 54. Simultaneously the valve is conditioned as a class A amplifier by the output pulse from delay device 40 which is fed to the valve grid through condenser 74. This operation is repeated twice more, to give three stages of I.F. amplification, the valve being conditioned by the output pulses from delay devices 41, 42 in succession and receiving its I.F. input pulse from delay device 70. To end the cycle of operations the output pulse from delay device 43, reduced in amplitude by network 84, 85, conditions the valve 23 as an anode-bend detector so that a D.C. pulse is produced in the anode circuit and passed by transformer 87 to the low pass filter 89. The latter is designed to pass the audio output components only of the demodulated signal for amplification by the low frequency amplifier and output valve 25. Gain control may be effected by adjusting one or more of the delay devices to cause one or more of the recycled pulses to overlap with each other in time to a variable extent. To ensure stability, the input of delay device 64 is short circuited by the biassed rectifier bridge 93 except when the pulse at the output of delay device 44 is applied, through condenser 96 and transformer 95, to the bridge. Similarly the input of delay device 70 is short circuited by bridge 97 except when pulses from delay devices 40, 41 or 42 are applied thereto. The delay of network 44 may be made an integral multiple of that of any of the other sections to ensure that any undesired reflections around the I.F. delay device 70 have died away before the next cycle of operations is commenced.